Representatives from No Maternity Traffic were received by the Secretary at the Hague conference regarding private international rights on September 4, 2015. They submitted a written statement to sound the alert that the practice of gestational surrogacy seriously infringes on women’s and children’s rights.
The Hague Conference on International Private Law is one of the worldwide intergovernmental organizations in charge of jurisdictional cooperation, especially for matters concerning the family and children’s rights. Since 2011, the Court at the Hague has been mandated to study the question of gestational surrogacy, because of the human stakes at issue, and the ethical and legal questions that this practice raises on an international level, notably concerning the parenthood of children.
In their written statement, No Maternity Traffic underlined the fact that an international convention which rules the effects of maternity by substitution would imply to accept the principle of ‘substitution’ maternity, whereas this practice seriously violates the rights and the dignity of women and children. No Maternity Traffic thus invites the Conference and the 79 member states that make up the conference to reflect first on the practice of “substitution maternity” in and of-itself, but also in respect to the international laws currently in effect.
No Maternity Traffic, which re-groups different international associations, including Alliance Vita as one of their active members, has also asked the European Council to oppose all forms of gestational surrogacy. To sign the petition: www.nomaternitytraffic.eu
